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On the 3rd July 2018 I will be part of the support crew for the Steve Prescott Foundation Race Across Team. We aim to support them as they cycle 3000 miles in less than 7 days and hopefully set a new record for Race Across Europe.

Playing rugby union in the St Helens and Liverpool area in the late 1990's and early 2000, everyone was a fan of "Saints". Steve Prescott was a fantastic player for "Saints" and Hull FC, his story is quite remarkable.

Once you have read Steve's book "One in a Million" which charts his sporting career and battle with cancer. It is both heart breaking and inspirational. When approached to help out the SPF team on such a extreme challenge, I could not say no.

The SPF also support the Christie Hospital, who treated my Uncle Howard Graham. Howard also a rugby legend, the Union code, in the Wigton and Buxton area lost his battle with Cancer earlier this year. So if I can give a little back to the hospital that looked after him, it only seems right that I do.

The RACE (Race across Europe) is a once-in-a-lifetime cycling event featuring the very best of riding in Europe for supported teams and unsupported solos and pairs. This event requires exceptional teamwork, stamina, energy, strategy and humour to succeed. Don’t let ‘race’ put you off though. If you cycle in a supported team this challenge is achievable by most people. Those who finish can proudly say that they competed in, and completed, what we think is one of the hardest cycling events on earth. It is not just about the cyclists either, this event allows even those with no interest in cycling to take part through acting as support crew to the cyclists, driving vehicles, navigating, cooking and boosting morale etc. The support crew are critical to the success of the cyclists and in many ways have the harder challenge and gain just as much by way of a major life achievement as anyone on a bike. It is truly a team event for everyone!

The RACE 2018 starts in Boulogne sur Mer, tracks north through the French Ardennes and crosses the Rhine into Germany. From here it climbs briefly into the Black Forest and onto a high plain that traverses east across Germany into Austria before heading south into Italy then immediately east into  Slovenia to cross the Vrsic Pass. The route then descends back into Italy and heads due west, crossing the Colle dell’Agnello back into France. We ride through Provence, climb over Mont Ventoux, then head south into the Languedoc Roussillon to cross the eastern Pyrenees into Spain. Spain provides consistently good road cycling all the way to the orange groves of Andalucia and the final rolling roads to Tarifa, with views of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and mountainous north African coastline. 

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